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If you have trouble seeing web pages, the U.S. Social Security Administration has some helpful information on how to use your computer or web browser to make it easier to see web pages and have web pages read out loud to you.

If you find a keyboard or mouse difficult to use, the following information explains how to use speech recognition software to navigate web pages and online services on ssa.gov.

Speech recognition software allows the user to move focus to an application object by voicing the object label name or the object type.

Object types include:

Text Box

List Box

Link

Image

Screen

File

Each of these object types are given a label name that is visible on the screen and the voice user can say the name to move focus to that object.

A screen, an application or file can be accessed by voicing the text in the Title Bar.

If there is an object or many objects on a screen without labels then the user can voice an object type which will number all objects of that type on that screen. For example voicing "link" would number all links that are on the visible screen and then a specific link can then be accessed by choosing the number desired. Voicing "checkbox", "radio button, "text box, etc. will operate in the same manner.

If the screen design does not allow moving focus by voicing a label or an object type then the speech recognition software may provide a utility to move the mouse pointer in discrete steps or continuously.

Social Security has designed web pages and applications to utilize several different methods of using speech in order to provide flexibility in using speech recognition capabilities. Users should try combinations of these methods to determine what best meets an individual's needs.

If you are deaf or hard of hearing, there are several accessibility features available to you.

Accessibility features

volume control

transcripts

captioning

all information and alerts conveyed via audio are also conveyed visually

Volume control

click the Start button

click "Control Panel"

click "Hardware and Sound"

click "Adjust System Volume"

use the volume control to increase or decrease sound to the desired level

Transcripts

A text transcript is a text equivalent of audio information that includes spoken words and non-spoken sounds such as sound effects. Captioning

A caption is transcript for the audio track of a video presentation that is synchronized with the video and audio tracks. Captions are generally rendered visually by being superimposed over the video, which benefits people who are deaf and hard-of-hearing, and anyone who cannot hear the audio (e.g., when in a crowded room).

The following information explains how to use captioning for video on demand and for both live and recorded webinars.

For video on demand, click the link to start the video playing. Next, click on the Closed Captioning (CC) button to activate the captioning feature.

For some videos and webinars, open captions are used. In these cases, the captioning feature cannot be turned off.

The Windows Media Player is required for online video content. If this media player is already installed on your computer, the player will come up automatically. If you do not have the player, it can be downloaded here: Microsoft Media Player download